2021 Nestlé Golden Chef's Hat Awards

from Restaurant and Café Magazine | December 2021

by Review Publishing Ltd

Training the Future of

Young Chefs Serve Up Some Magic at

THE 2021 NESTLÉ GOLDEN CHEF’S HAT AWARDS

Congratulations to Samantha Warena who has been awarded a Certificate of Participation in the 2021 Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Awards.

Representing the North Island in the grand finals held at the QT Hotel in Queenstown, Samantha battled it out in the virtual competition against ten other top young chefs from across Australia.

Each of the finalists competed simultaneously across their regions in commercial kitchens, with two NZChefs or Australian Culinary Federation expert judges onsite to assess professional practices, presentation and the allimportant test factor. At the same time, the young chefs’ creations were live streamed to a panel of remote judges who calibrated the results.

Warena’s three-course meal comprised an entrée of cream pumpkin puree seres with black bean and CHEF black Garlic Paste patters with fresh basil, smoked paprika feta and a pistachio and parmesan wafer.

The main was a rosary and mushroom stuffed chicken roulade, serves with duchess sweet potatoes, capsicum and a courgette and raspberry sauce.

To finish, dessert was a no-bake citrus cheesecake with sweet panic crumb, blueberry powers and a rich dark chocolate sauce.

Tightly contested, the 2021 winner was Kimberly Tang from Melbourne, taking out the winner’s crown and AUD$10,000 to further her culinary career.

“We attracted an outstanding level of talent this year,” noted Executive chef and Nestlé Professional head judge Mark Clayton.

“Female chefs dominated in the finalist line-up and an unprecedented five gold medals were awarded.”

Watch the virtual award ceremony below. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Yt5szpfInXo&t=1s

NESTLÉ GOLDEN CHEF’S HAT AWARD 2021 VIDEO CATEGORY WINNERS

As part of this year’s entry process, the award gave enthusiastic chefs the option of creating a video to showcase their skills and personality, ahead of the regional finals. There were amazing video submissions from six chefs who have landed themselves a $250 cash equivalent gift card.